3 Research
Methodology
The
preceding chapter presented the secondary data collection that created the
conceptual framework within which to embark on the primary data collection
method discussed in this chapter. As it involves the analysis of communication skills
practiced in the context of UAE’s multicultural project management in the
context of its pursuit in achieving the goals of Vision 2021, the data
collection methodology involves the need to take the pulse of real-world
project managers in at least one industry
to confirm or reject the research hypotheses that communication is key
to achieving success in a multicultural project that is quite common in a
culturally diverse society across the UAE.
3.1 Research Design and Methodology
The paper
uses both qualitative and quantitative approaches to answer the research
questions. The two methods are not
exclusive and while the paper is more qualitative in its assessments,
particularly in the interview part of the primary data collection, it presents
the survey results quantitatively to identify the themes that have
emerged. Pie charts and bar graphs have
been used in the demographics part.
Since the nature of the study is more of an investigative behavioral
inquisition to establish the value of communication to answer the research
questions, an unstructured qualitative research design was used. This is often
the preferred approach in social science enquiries that need to go beyond
statistical quantification and provides the empirical set of data that explains
certain trends or phenomenon (Kumar, 2011 and Kothari, 1985). Hence, the motivation behind, nature and the
extent of the communication skills as used by the sampled project managers
readily lends to a qualitative approach to arrive at a thematic body of
opinions and insights as summarized in the last chapter. On the other hand, the results from the
survey are quantitatively assessed to determine the dominant responses to each
variables or questions and presented in tables or charts as appropriate.
3.1.1 Data Collection
The paper
uses the qualitative approach in gathering the insights of project managers in assessing
their insights on the role and value of communication to achieve the objectives
of projects geared towards nation building.
It uses a purposive but simplified survey questionnaire on the Likert
scale targeting 80 project managers in several UAE companies known to have
several ongoing projects in the country.
This data collection method is augmented by direct interviews that
targeted 20 senior project managers who have successfully completed major
projects over the last 10 years or more.
Alternative
data collection methods were considered such as multiple focus group and
observation approaches which are also viable data collection techniques. The multiple focus group approach was ruled
out as it required gathering a group of UAE company managers and staff at a predetermined
schedule which may not be consensually easy to arrive at, thereby retarding the
response rate. The observation approach needs
the research team to be present in an actual project management site and
monitoring how project managers deal with various nationalities in the
project. This is more suited in a case
study approach for one or two projects but will require observation over weeks or
months beyond what is allocated for the research. The survey questionnaire was the most feasible
as it allowed the target respondents to respond at their convenience within the
shortest specified timeframe.
3.1.2 The Survey Questionnaire
This
study evaluated responses from the surveyed project managers on their
experiential insights on the role and value of communication skills in a
multicultural project setting. Primary
data collection was served by a purposive set of carefully worded questionnaire
as presented in Annex A. It was
structured using simple, direct and unique closed ended questions on a 5-point Likert
scale that measured the level of importance of or agreement to the questions as
the case may be (Frary, 1996). The simplicity was designed to encourage a high
response rate and not cause intimidation as some elaborate questionnaires tend
to do (Vehovar & Lozar, 2008). With
five dimensions to be explored and several variables in each, the structure of
the questionnaire is presented in Table 5
Table 5:
Survey questionnaire structure
|
Dimensions
|
Variables
|
|
|
1
|
Demographics
|
7
|
|
2
|
Project
Management Experience
|
2
|
|
3
|
Importance
of Project Management Skills
|
3
|
|
4
|
Project
Management Area Where Communication is Important
|
5
|
|
5
|
Cross-Cultural
Communication Skills
|
6
|
3.1.3 Interviews
Personal direct
interviews were conducted with select project managers among the survey
respondents. Annex B presents the
interview prompts with just four questions to guide the research in gathering information
from the interviewees. The interview was done after the results of the survey
questionnaire came in and was used to clarify and expound on the responses of
select individuals, notably the senior project managers with more than 10 years
of experience. The period for the interviews
was indicated in the invites with a request for the participants to indicate
their chat addresses or phone numbers over which the interview was conducted as
well as the preferred date and time for their availability. The
respondents were made aware that their responses were recorded their insights
comprised the primary data, along with questionnaire responses to support or
disprove the content in the literature chapter as discussed in the preceding
chapter. The results of the interview
were individually assessed, and shared or common insights were grouped to form
a thematic body of opinions that comprised the qualitative results of the
study.
3.1.4 Data
Analysis
The
questionnaire results were tabulated in MS Excel and the distribution of
responses over the questions was analyzed in terms of preponderance or commonly
shared responses. The responses to each
question were quantified in terms of frequency and percentages and were
represented visually through pie charts and bar graphs where appropriate. The
quantitative aspect of the research ended here and the results were
qualitatively assessed to reveal the common themes that dominated the survey
results, particularly in the interview section where the gathered insights were
studied, and categorized into groups to reveal a thematic body of opinions
which not only affirmed the results of the survey questions but provided
additional insights in the results.. The
salient insights were summarized according to major themes as presented in
answer to the research questions
3.1.5 Qualification of the sampled
The sample
size was confined to a random sampling of 80 UAE project managers and
management staff who have had past and present involvement in multicultural
projects in four property development and construction industries in the Metro
Dubai area. The list of project managers was requested from an initial visit to
four companies with headquarters in the city. Other companies known to engage in multicultural
projects were also considered but none responses to the invite or failed to be
received within the allotted time. Each project manager in the interview list which
was gathered from an initial visit to these companies with a request to participate
in the survey have had at least 10 years of experience managing teams of
professionals and laborers from more than two countries.
3.1.6 Survey Invitation Process
With
the expressed permission of their respective organizational heads to which
their report directly, all the identified project managers were provided with
survey invites along with the consent form.
The invites contained the researcher’s email address for which they were
requested to respond back as an indication of their consent to participate in
the survey and interview. Once received,
the emailed consent was responded to with a return email of the answered questionnaire. Some of invitees were also requested to
participate in an interview session with attached schedules for which they
either accepted or requested for some changes.
Response rate was hoped to be at least 60% of the respondents in both
survey and interviews as gathered from the four select companies.
3.2 Research Ethics
The study
followed accepted principles of voluntary participation and confidentiality of
gathered data in any survey as mandated by the university’s ethical research
guidelines. Informed consent was among of the primary considerations in any
research that involved adults as respondents (Kimmel, 2007 and this research
provided prospective participants with an emailed consent form prior to
administering the survey questionnaire and interview. Anonymity was strictly
observed as survey respondents did not have to indicate their names in the
answered questionnaire returned by email. And while the names of select respondents
in the interview were known to the researcher, anonymity was assured as
respondent names were not divulged in the research paper.
3.3 Limitations
The survey questionnaire as a data
gathering method usually has a low fulfillment or response rate. However, a
high sampling size often generates enough respondents to create confidence in
the survey results. Holbrook et al. (2005) studied
more than 80 US national surveys with response rates ranging from 5% to 54% and
found no significant correlation between response rates and the quality of
responses. In fact, some surveys with
low response rates (in the 20%- 30% range) showed relatively higher accurate
measurements than those with higher (60% -70%) response rates (Visser, et al.,
1996). In general, despite a lack of
empirical evidence to back it up, a higher response rate is traditionally
preferred.
A research
is also as good as its results are relevant. Kumar (2011) pointed out that a
study is just a snapshot, a cross sectional assessment of a phenomenon or situation
conducted at a specific period of time and whose findings are valid only within
a limited timeframe. This study collected and evaluated individual insights,
values and judgments from sampled population on the relevance of communication
skills to get through project imperatives in the context of the UAE government’s
vision 2021. Most of the insights
gathered can easily be overtaken by new developments, both in the areas of
communication technologies and its socio-political model. In addition, project management disciplines
may change over the period leading up to 2021. In short, the study is valid
only until such times as these new and emerging trends project management and
communications render the results of the study as outdated.
